Elastic turnbuckle.



CQL. KBDDY.

ELASTIG TURNBUGKLE.

APPLICATION FILED mme, 1911.

Patented 0013. 24, 1911.

CLIFFORD L. KEDDY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELASTICI TURNBUCKLE.

Specification of `Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

Application filed June 6, `1911. Serial No. 631,636.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFFORD L. KEDDY, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and resident of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements' inElastic Turnbuckles, of which the follo-wing is a specification.

My invention relates to turnbuckles and has for its object to provide anelastic turnbuckle of simple, inexpensive and strong construction.

My imp-roved turnbuckle comprises a hollow tube into which extends a rodon which is mounted a threaded nut whose threads engage threads providedon o-ne of said parts. The nut is connected with the other of said partsso that it cannot rotate relatively thereto but can move longitudinallythereof, while a spring acting at one end on the nut and at its oppositeend upon one of said parts yieldingly holds the tube and rod againstseparating movement. The tube and rod are provided with means by whichone of said parts can be attached to one of the two elements to beconnected by the turnbuckle and the other with the other element withprovision for relative rotary movement.

of the rod and tube to shift the nut and vary the holding effect of thespring. That is, by rotating the tube and rod relatively, the nut can beadjusted to vary the length of the turnbuckle and its elasticityaccording to the requirements of the situation where it is used.

A feature of my invention in its best form consists in arranging thespring with relation to the tube and rod so that the closing of thecoils of the spring acts as a positive stop to limit the stretch of theturnbuckle, and so that by relative rotary adjustment of said parts thespring may be fully compressed and its coils closed so as to provide arigid non-elastic turnbuckle connection when desired.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvedturnbuckle; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinalsectional view of theturnbuckle shown in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Figs.l and 2.

Having reference to the drawings A vis the tubular member and B the rod,C the nut, D the spring and E a yoke loosely swiveled on the outer endof rod B behind an enlargement or head b formed on said 1 outer end. Oneend of the tubular member A is made with an eye a for attachment to oneof the two elements shown at F which the turnbuckle connects, while theopposite end of said tubular member A is closed by a threaded plug ascrewed into the end of tubular member A, said end being interiorlythreaded to receive said nut. The plug a is made with a central aperturethrough which the rod B extends, as herein shown, the part of rod Bwithin member A is screw threaded and has mounted upon it the nut Cbetween which and plug a is arranged the spring D, said spring acting toyieldingly hold members A and B against separating movement and topositively limit the extent of separating movement by the closing of thecoils of said spring.

As shown in Fig. 3, the interior of tubular vmember A is non-circular incross-section, vbeing herein shown as hexagonal to t the shape of theexterior of nut C so that said nut is locked against rotating relativelyto member A but can move longitudinally thereof when rod B is rotated ineither direction.

The outer end of rod B is formed with a sock ZJ for a wrench by means ofwhich the rod can be rotated relatively to member A and yoke E to adjustnut C to vary the elasticity or length of the turnbuckle or to close thecoils of spring D. The legs of yoke E are formed with apertures e toreceive a bolt e by means of which the yoke is secured to an eye-bolt orother'anchorage Gr which constitutes the other of the two elements thatare connected by the turnbuckle.

My improved turnbuckle above described is useful in many situations butit is particularly adapted for use as part of the stay or shroud of avessels mast. Heretofore stays and shrouds for masts have been soconstructed that they were unyielding and nonelastic under strain andconsequently injuri- .ous strains and shocks would be brought to bearupon the mast supporting rigging when the mast was subjected to lateralstrains due to sudden squalls or to movements of the vessel. With one ofmy improved turnbuckles forming part of each stay and shroud of thevessel, said parts will be elastic or yielding, to a limited extent,under the lateral strain of the mast, the turnbuckle at one side of themast giving slack under strain from the mast in one direction, while theturnbuckle or turnbuckles on the other side of the mast will take up theslack on that side. Constructed as herein shown the elasticity of theturnbuclrle may be regulated by adjusting the rod B so that when thestay or shroud is subjected to unusual strain, the closing of the coilsof spring D will limit the stretch or elasticity of the stay or shroud.

A particularly advantageous feature of the turnbuckle constructed asabove is that the spring is completely inclosed and protected by thetubular member A, whose interior chamber is closed so that water cannotenter and collect therein to the injury 'of the spring.

Vhat I claim is:

1. An elastic turnbuckle comprising a tubular member; a rod extendinginto said tubular member; a nut within the tubular member havingthreaded engagement with one of said parts and connected with the otherof said parts so that it is locked against rotary movement relativelythereto but is free to move longitudinally thereof; a spring actingthrough the nut to yield ingly hold the tubular member and rod againstmovement apart; and means for attaching the outer end of the rod and theopposite end of the tubular member to the two elements that are to beconnected by the turnbuclrle, with provision for relative rotation ofthe rod and tubular member to operate the nut.

2. An elastic turnbuckle comprising a tubular member having an interiorwhich is noncircular in cross-section; a nut within the tubular membershaped exteriorly to it the interior of said member; a threaded rodextending into the tubular member on which the nut is mounted; a springwithin the tubular member confined between the nut and one end of saidmember so as to yieldingly hold the rod and tubular member againstseparating movement; and means upon the outer end of the rod and theopposite end of the tubular member for attaching the turnbuckle to thetwo elements the latter is to connect.

3. An elastic turnbuckle comprising a tubular member having an interiorwhich is non-circular in cross-section; a nut within the tubular membershaped exteriorly to fit the interior of said member; a threaded rodextending into the tubular member on which the nutis mounted; a springwithin the tubular member conned between the nut and one end of saidmember so as to yieldingly hold the rod and tubular member againstseparating movement; a yoke swiveled upon the outer end of the rod forattachment to one of the two elements which the turnbuclrle is toconnect, and means at the opposite end of the tubular member forattachment to the other of said elements.

4L. An elastic turnbuckle comprising a tubular member having an interiorwhich is non-circular in cross-section; a nut within t-he tubular membershaped exteriorly to t the interior of said member; a threaded rodextending into the tubular member on which the nut is mounted; a springwithin the tubular member confined between the nut and one end of saidmember so as to yieldingiy hold the rod and tubular member againstseparating movement; a yoke swiveled upon the outer end of the rod forattachment to one of the two elements which the turnbuckle is toconnect; a wrench socket formed in the outer portion of the rod be-vtween the yoke and tubular member, and means at the opposite end of thetubular member for attachment to the other of said elements.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

CLIFFORD L. KEDDY. lVitnesses i JESSE A. HoLToN, ARTHUR F. RANDALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

